“The assembly must protect the one accused of murder from the avenger of blood and send the accused back to the city of refuge to which they fled. The accused must stay there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.” — Numbers 35:25

The Torah portion for this week is Massei, which means “journeys,” from Numbers 33:1–36:13, and the Haftorah is from Jeremiah 2:4–28; 4:1–2.

Earlier this year, a tragedy struck an Israeli couple. The two were celebrating the husband’s 40^th birthday with a weekend away in a Tel Aviv hotel. The husband, Gershon, went for a swim in the nearby sparkling Mediterranean waters, but never returned. Gershon’s wife desperately scanned the horizon, but her husband was nowhere to be seen.

Later, Gershon’s wife learned that a small rock had hit her husband in the head, making him temporarily unconscious and causing him to drown. However, in a strange way this proved a comfort to the young widow. Her husband was a strong swimmer, and for him to drown in such a strange manner could only be from God. If God willed it, then it was part of His plan and all was for the best.

In this week’s Torah reading, we learn about the laws regarding the killing of another person accidentally. The Sages give the following classical example. A woodchopper goes into the woods to cut down trees as he does every day. He draws his axe back and takes a swing, only, much to his surprise, the blade goes flying off the axe into the forest where it ends up landing on an innocent person out for a stroll, killing him. The woodchopper took a life, but by accident.

For these tragic cases, God commanded that cities of refuge be set up to serve as places where such people could find safe harbour from angry relatives. The Bible specified that the person must stay in the city until the death of the High Priest. According to the Sages, the mother of the High Priest would send gift packages to these people so that they would not pray for the death of her son, the High Priest, which would mean freedom for that person. The question is, why would God hear the prayers of a person who had caused the death of another over those that the High Priest prayed for himself?

The Sages explain that the power of prayer is not determined by who we are, but rather how much we appreciate God’s providence. Imagine if a person had thrown the rock that killed Gershon. What if that person was skipping stones and accidently killed a man? How deeply would he understand how God controls every little act. How much would he comprehend God’s intervention in the world! Such a person’s prayers can make anything possible.

This is priceless advice on how to make our own prayers more powerful. No matter who we are or what we may have done in the past, when we are certain that everything comes from God, anything can happen. When we are clear on God’s will, we can enjoy His providence in our lives.